Nominated for UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage

The traditional dipnet fishing culture of the Torne River is the next site in Sweden and Finland to be inscribed on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The main applicant for the multinational application is the Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore (ISOF). For Finland, the Finnish Heritage Agency is responsible for the preparations. The Torne Valley Museum coordinates the application process with a community of traditionalists. The application was sent to Paris in March 2025, and a decision on a possible designation on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will be made in December 2026.

In November 2017, the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture named the traditional rapids fishing culture of the Tornio River Inscribed on the National Inventory of Living Heritage. It is included in the list under topic Nature and the universe. Proposals for national inventories UNESCO’s International Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. On the Swedish side, the rapids fishing culture of the Torne River –The dipnet fishing tradition in the Torne Valley has been included in the National Candidate List for Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018.

Today, the Sauna tradition (2020) and the Kaustinen fiddle playing (2021) have been inscribed on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as well as the Nordic clinker boat tradition (2021), in which Sweden is also involved, as well as the knowledge, skills and techniques related to handmade glass (2023) with five other countries. Summer pasture tradition from Sweden (Swedish. Fäbodkultur) was added to the list together with Norway in 2024.

APPLICATION PACKAGE AND PROCESS SCHEDULE

UNESCO’s application for inscription on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage consists of four components:

Application form, approx. 15 pages
Video introducing the tradition, 15 minutes
Photographs presenting the tradition, a total of 10
Letters of consent from the community, individuals and stakeholders to support the UNESCO bid

Step 1: Preparation, submission of documents and attachments

31.3.2025: Deadline by which applications must be received by the UNESCO Secretariat.
30/06/2025: Deadline for the Secretariat to process the files, including registration and acknowledgement of receipt. If the file is found to be incomplete, the Contracting State is requested to complete the file.
30/09/2025: Deadline for the Contracting State to provide the Secretariat with the missing information, if any, necessary to complete the file. Incomplete files are returned to the Contracting States, which may complete them for a later period.

Step 2: Evaluation

December 2025 – May 2026: Evaluation of appointments by the evaluation body.
April-June 2026: Meeting for the final evaluation of the evaluation body.
Four weeks before the committee meeting: Appointment files and evaluation reports are available online for consultation of Contracting States.